Adaptive management for mitigating Cryptosporidium risk in source water: A case study in an agricultural catchment in South Australia

Water-borne pathogens such as Cryptosporidium pose a significant human health risk and catchments provide the first critical pollution ‘barrier’ in mitigating risk in drinking water supply. In this paper we apply an adaptive management framework to mitigating Cryptosporidium risk in source water using a case study of the Myponga catchment in South Australia. Firstly, we evaluated the effectiveness of past water quality management programs in relation to the adoption of practices by landholders using a socio-economic survey of land use and management in the catchment. The impact of past management on the mitigation of Cryptosporidium risk in source water was also evaluated based on analysis of water quality monitoring data. Quantitative risk assessment was used in planning the next round of management in the adaptive cycle. Specifically, a pathogen budget model was used to identify the major remaining sources of Cryptosporidium in the catchment and estimate the mitigation impact of 30 alternative catchment management scenarios. Survey results show that earlier programs have resulted in the comprehensive adoption of best management practices by dairy farmers including exclusion of stock from watercourses and effluent management from 2000 to 2007. Whilst median Cryptosporidium concentrations in source water have decreased since 2004 they remain above target levels and put pressure on other barriers to mitigate risk, particularly the treatment plant. Non-dairy calves were identified as the major remaining source of Cryptosporidium in the Myponga catchment. The restriction of watercourse access of non-dairy calves could achieve a further reduction in Cryptosporidium export to the Myponga reservoir of around 90% from current levels. The adaptive management framework applied in this study was useful in guiding learning from past management, and in analysing, planning and refocussing the next round of catchment management strategies to achieve water quality targets.     

Elimination of racemic and enantioenriched metalaxyl based fungicides under tropical conditions in the field

The elimination has been studied of racemic and enantioenriched metalaxyl applied as an emulsifiable concentrate and wettable powder combined with copper in a Cameroonian field site. The kinetics of the degradation/dissipation of metalaxyl and its acid metabolite were investigated using reversed phase HPLC-MS/MS, while the enantiomeric ratios were measured by HPLC-MS/MS using a Chiralcel OD-H HPLC column. Some soil enzymes activities were determined concurrently for 120d. The elimination of racemic metalaxyl was shown to be enantioselective, with the R-enantiomer being degraded more slowly than the S-enantiomer. Dissipation followed approximate square root first-order kinetics (R>0.98) without lag phases. The enantiomers of metalaxyl have different elimination rates, with half-lives ranging from only 0.8 to 1.5 days. After application to soil, the elimination of metalaxyl in the copper containing formulation was slower. The activities of acid phosphatase, alkaline phosphatase, and alkaline glucosidase were monitored throughout the experiments. No significant influence of metalaxyl and copper could be observed on these parameters. The significantly shorter half-life values of all forms of metalaxyl under field conditions, compared to the previously reported laboratory derived ones, may have implications for the plant disease control with these fungicides in tropical rainforest areas.     

Impact of underestimating the effects of cold temperature on motor vehicle start emissions of air toxics in the United States

Analyses of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) certification data, California Air Resources Board surveillance testing data, and EPA research testing data indicated that EPA's MOBILE6.2 emission factor model substantially underestimates emissions of gaseous air toxics occurring during vehicle starts at cold temperatures for light-duty vehicles and trucks meeting EPA Tier 1 and later standards. An unofficial version of the MOBILE6.2 model was created to account for these underestimates. When this unofficial version of the model was used to project emissions into the future, emissions increased by almost 100% by calendar year 2030, and estimated modeled ambient air toxics concentrations increased by 6-84%, depending on the pollutant. To address these elevated emissions, EPA recently finalized standards requiring reductions of emissions when engines start at cold temperatures.     

Defining ecologically relevant scales for spatial protection with long‐term data on an endangered seabird and local prey availability

Human activities are important drivers of marine ecosystem functioning. However, separating the synergistic effects of fishing and environmental variability on the prey base of nontarget predators is difficult, often because prey availability estimates on appropriate scales are lacking. Understanding how prey abundance at different spatial scales links to population change can help integrate the needs of nontarget predators into fisheries management by defining ecologically relevant areas for spatial protection. We investigated the local population response (number of breeders) of the Bank Cormorant (Phalacrocorax neglectus), a range‐restricted endangered seabird, to the availability of its prey, the heavily fished west coast rock lobster (Jasus lalandii). Using Bayesian state‐space modeled cormorant counts at 3 colonies, 22 years of fisheries‐independent data on local lobster abundance, and generalized additive modeling, we determined the spatial scale pertinent to these relationships in areas with different lobster availability. Cormorant numbers responded positively to lobster availability in the regions with intermediate and high abundance but not where regime shifts and fishing pressure had depleted lobster stocks. The relationships were strongest when lobsters 20–30 km offshore of the colony were considered, a distance greater than the Bank Cormorant's foraging range when breeding, and may have been influenced by prey availability for nonbreeding birds, prey switching, or prey ecology. Our results highlight the importance of considering the scale of ecological relationships in marine spatial planning and suggest that designing spatial protection around focal species can benefit marine predators across their full life cycle. We propose the precautionary implementation of small‐scale marine protected areas, followed by robust assessment and adaptive‐management, to confirm population‐level benefits for the cormorants, their prey, and the wider ecosystem, without negative impacts on local fisheries.     

Quantifying the extent of protected‐area downgrading,downsizing, and degazettement in Australia

The use of total area protected as the predominant indicator of progress in building protected area (PA) networks is receiving growing criticism. Documenting the full dynamics of PA networks, both in terms of the gains and losses in protection, provides a much more informative approach to tracking progress. To this end, documentation of PA downgrading, downsizing, and degazettement (PADDD) has increased. Studies of PADDD events generally fail to place these losses in the context of gains in protection; therefore, they omit important elements of PA network dynamics. To address this limitation, we used a spatially explicit approach to identify every parcel of land added to and excised from the Australian terrestrial PA network and PAs that had their level of protection changed over 17 years (1997–2014). By quantifying changes in the spatial configuration of the PA network with time‐series data (spatial layers for nine separate time steps), ours is the first assessment of the dynamics (increases and decreases in area and level of protection) of a PA network and the first comprehensive assessment of PADDD in a developed country. We found that the Australian network was highly dynamic; there were 5233 changes in area or level of protection over 17 years. Against a background of enormous increases in area protected, we identified over 1500 PADDD events, which affected over one‐third of the network, which were largely the result of widespread downgrading of protection. We believe our approach provides a mechanism for robust tracking of trends in the world's PAs through the use of data from the World Database on Protected Areas. However, this will require greater transparency and improved data standards in reporting changes to PAs.     

What does it mean to transform knowledge into action in falls prevention research? Perspectives from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research

Introduction

The concept of knowledge translation as defined by the Canadian Institutes for Health Research and the Knowledge to Action Cycle, described by Graham et al (Graham et al., 2006), are used to make a case for the importance of using a conceptual model to describe moving knowledge into action in the area of falls prevention.

Method

There is a large body of research in the area of falls prevention. It would seem that in many areas it is clear what is needed to prevent falls and further syntheses can determine where the evidence is sufficiently robust to warrant its implementation as well as where the gaps are that require further basic research.

Conclusion

The phases of the action cycle highlight seven areas that should be paid attention to in order to maximize chances of successful implementation.     

Antecedents of work–family conflict: A meta‐analytic review

This study provides and meta‐analytically examines an organizing framework and theoretical model of work–family conflict. Results, based on 1080 correlations from 178 samples, indicate that work role stressors (job stressors, role conflict, role ambiguity, role overload, time demands), work role involvement (job involvement, work interest/centrality), work social support (organizational support, supervisor support, coworker support), work characteristics (task variety, job autonomy, family friendly organization), and personality (internal locus of control, negative affect/neuroticism) are antecedents of work‐to‐family conflict (WFC); while family role stressors (family stressors, role conflict, role ambiguity, role overload, time demands, parental demands, number of children/dependents), family social support (family support, spousal support), family characteristics (family climate), and personality (internal locus of control, negative affect/neuroticism) are antecedents of family‐to‐work conflict (FWC). In addition to hypothesized results, a revised model based on study findings indicates that work role stressors (job stressors, role conflict, role ambiguity, role overload) and work social support (organizational support, supervisor support, coworker support) are predictors of FWC; while family role stressors (family stressors, role conflict, role ambiguity, role overload), family involvement (family interest/centrality), family social support (family support, spousal support), and family characteristics (family climate) are predictors of WFC. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Insights to false positive total cyanide measurements in wastewater plant effluents.

Many publicly owned treatment works in North America are exceeding permitted limits for total cyanide in their wastewater treatment effluents. A recently introduced rapid, segmented, flow-injection analysis procedure using UV digestion and amperometric detection of the membrane-separated cyanide was used to investigate the various scenarios by which elevated cyanide levels might be present in wastewater treatment plant effluent. A number of significant interferences can produce false positive bias during sample analysis with the traditional acid distillation technique, but are minimized or absent with the new analytical method. However, increased levels of cyanide were found in some chlorinated wastewaters compared to the levels before chlorination, suggesting a fast reaction mechanism associated with the disinfectant and some precursor in the wastewater. In particular, the contact of chlorine with nitrite in the presence of a carbon precursor appears to contribute to cyanide formation during wastewater treatment and sample handling. This paper explores the scenarios under which cyanide can form during wastewater treatment as well as those in which a false bias for total cyanide can be obtained during sample processing and provides guidance for appropriate sample handling, screening, and processing to ensure valid analytical results.     

Interrelationship of age and diet in Romania’s oldest human burial

In 1968, excavations in the Climente II cave in the Iron Gates gorge of the River Danube in southwest Romania unearthed the skeleton of an adult male. The burial was assumed to be of Late Pleistocene age because of the presence of Late Upper Palaeolithic (LUP) artefacts in the cave. However, there was no strong supporting stratigraphic evidence, and the body position is reminiscent of Early Neolithic burial practice in the region. Here, we report the results of radiocarbon and stable isotope analyses of the Climente II skeleton, which show that the skeleton dates to the Bølling–Allerød Interstadial ~14,500 cal BP. This is several millennia older than any previously dated human remains from the Iron Gates region and confirms its status as the oldest known burial from Romania. The stable isotope results indicate a diet with an emphasis on aquatic resources, contrary to the commonly held view that the LUP inhabitants of the Iron Gates subsisted mainly by hunting large land mammals.